Biometric ticketing

ABSTRACT

In biometric ticketing, physical token-less ticketing system using biometrics, a person may be identified using a digital representation of a biometric. Ticketing information may be ascertained based on the identification. The ticketing information may be provided, actions may be performed using the ticketing information, and so on. In some implementations, a checkpoint device receives biometric data from a person. A digital representation of the biometric data is used to obtain an identifier from an identification system. The digital representation of the biometric data may not be included in the identifier. The identifier is used by to obtain ticketing information from a ticketing system. The person may be allowed or denied entry into a ticketed area based on the ticketing information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation patent application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/731,472, filed Dec. 31, 2019 and titled“Biometric Ticketing,” which is a continuation patent application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/272,611, filed Feb. 11, 2019 andtitled “Biometric Ticketing,” now U.S. Pat. No. 10,552,597, which is acontinuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/132,037, filed Sep. 14, 2018 and titled “Biometric Ticketing,” nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,275,587, which is a nonprovisional patent applicationof and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/559,371, filed Sep. 15, 2017, and titled “Physical Token-LessTicketing Using Biometrics” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/690,242, filed Jun. 26, 2018, and titled “Biometric Ticketing.” U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/132,037 is also a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/989,883, filed May 25, 2018 andtitled “Physical Token-Less Security Screening Using Biometrics,” nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,268,813, which is a continuation patent application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/958,734, filed Apr. 20, 2018 andtitled “Physical Token-Less Security Screening Using Biometrics,” nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,268,812, which is a continuation patent application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/717,416, filed Sep. 27, 2017 andtitled “Physical Token-Less Security Screening Using Biometrics,” nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,049,201, which is a continuation patent application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/618,659, filed Jun. 9, 2017 andtitled “Physical Token-Less Security Screening Using Biometrics,” nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,870,459, which is a continuation patent application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/154,823, filed May 13, 2016 andtitled “Physical Token-Less Security Screening Using Biometrics,” nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,721,081, which is a nonprovisional patent application ofand claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/161,330, filed May 14, 2015 and titled “Biometric Obtained ElectronicBoard Pass,” the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to ticketing, and more specifically tobiometric ticketing or ticketing using biometrics without obtainingphysical tokens.

BACKGROUND

There are a variety of different situations in which service or otherproviders issue tickets or similar tokens to customers, which may bephysical tokens or electronic tokens presented via physical electronicdevices such as smart phones. In many situations, the tokens may bepresented at a checkpoint in order to enter a venue or other ticketedarea.

For example, people may be able to obtain tickets for a sporting event.Ticket checkpoints may be set up at a venue for the sporting event inorder to ensure that only ticketed people are allowed entry. Forexample, ticket checkpoints may be set up at entrances of the venue forthe sporting event. People may present physical or electronic tickets atthe ticket checkpoints in order to validate that they are entitled toentry. Upon validation of such a physical or electronic ticket, theperson may be allowed entry into the venue for the sporting event.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to systems, methods, apparatuses, andcomputer program products for biometric ticketing, or physicaltoken-less ticketing using biometrics. In some implementations, a personmay be identified using a digital representation of a biometric.Ticketing information may be ascertained based on the identification.The ticketing information may be provided, actions may be performedusing the ticketing information, and so on.

In various implementations, a person may provide biometric data to acheckpoint device as part of a ticketing system. A digitalrepresentation of the biometric data may be used to look up anidentifier for the person from an identification system device. Thedigital representation of the biometric data may not be included in theidentifier. The identifier may be used to obtain ticketing informationfrom a ticketing system, which may be used to determine whether or notto allow the person entry into a ticketed area.

In various embodiments, a checkpoint system includes at least onenon-transitory storage medium storing instructions, at least onecommunication component communicably connected to a ticketing systemdevice, and at least one processing unit coupled to the at least onenon-transitory storage medium and the at least one communicationcomponent. The at least one processing unit executes the instructions toobtain a digital representation of biometric data for a person;ascertain an identifier for the person based on the digitalrepresentation of the biometric data, wherein the digital representationof the biometric data is not included in the identifier; receiveticketing information for the person based at least on the identifier;and approve the person based on the ticketing information. In numerousexamples, the ticketing information corresponds to a sporting event, aflight, a vehicle rental, a lodging rental, a concert, a performance, ora movie.

In some examples, the at least one processing unit ascertains theidentifier by transmitting the digital representation of the biometricdata to an identification system device. In numerous examples, the atleast one processing unit receives the identifier from theidentification system device. In various examples, the at least oneprocessing unit receives the ticketing information from the ticketingsystem device. In some implementations of such examples, the at leastone processing unit receives the ticketing information in response tothe identifier being provided to the ticketing system device.

In various examples, the at least one processing unit is at least afirst processing unit of a first computing device and a secondprocessing unit of a second computing device. The second computingdevice is communicably coupled to the first computing device.

In some embodiments, a method of operating a checkpoint system includesascertaining an identifier for a person, using at least one processingunit, based on a digital representation of biometric data for theperson, receiving ticketing information for the person, using the atleast one processing unit, based at least on the identifier, anddetermining whether to approve the person, using the at least oneprocessing unit, based on the ticketing information. The digitalrepresentation of the biometric data is not included in the identifier.In some implementations, the identifier is at least one of a name of theperson, an email of the person, a phone number of the person, aticketing system account number for the person, a state identificationnumber for the person, or a social security number for the person.

In various examples, determining whether to approve the person includesdetermining whether the ticketing information indicates the person isentitled to approval. In some examples, determining whether to approvethe person includes determining whether the person is on a securitylist. In numerous examples, determining whether to approve the personincludes determining whether to perform security screening on theperson. In various examples, determining whether to approve the personincludes determining whether to perform heightened security screening onthe person. In some examples, determining whether to approve the personincludes determining an entitlement level for the person based on theticketing information.

In various embodiments, a computing device includes at least onenon-transitory storage medium storing instructions, at least onecommunication component communicably connected to an identificationsystem device and a ticketing system device, and at least one processingunit coupled to the at least one non-transitory storage medium and theat least one communication component. The at least one processing unitexecutes the instructions to obtain a digital representation ofbiometric data for a person; ascertain an identifier for the person bycommunicating with the identification system device using the digitalrepresentation of the biometric data, wherein the digital representationof the biometric data is not included in the identifier; obtainticketing information for the person by communicating with the ticketingsystem device using the identifier; and presenting the ticketinginformation.

In some examples, the ticketing information corresponds to multipletickets. In such examples, the at least one processing unit may beoperable to select among the multiple tickets. In various examples, theticketing system device includes a first ticketing system deviceoperated by a first ticketing issuer and a second ticketing systemdevice operated by a second ticketing issuer. In numerous examples, theat least one processing unit determines whether the person haspreviously used the ticketing information.

In various examples, the ticketing information indicates the person isto be denied entry. In some examples, the biometric data includes atleast one of a facial image, a fingerprint, a retina image, an irisimage, a gait, or a palm print.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are for purposes of example andexplanation and do not necessarily limit the present disclosure. Theaccompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a partof the specification, illustrate subject matter of the disclosure.Together, the descriptions and the drawings serve to explain theprinciples of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for boarding pass-lessairport security screening for flyers.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method for boarding pass-lessairport security screening for flyers. This method may be performed bythe system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example of additional operationsthat may be performed as part of the method of FIG. 2 in someimplementations.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a boarding pass-less airlineprocessing system.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for boarding pass-lessairline processing. This method may be performed by the system of FIG.4.

FIG. 6 depicts a system for token-less ticketing.

FIG. 7 depicts a flow chart illustrating a first example method fortoken-less ticketing. This method may be performed by the system of FIG.6.

FIG. 8 depicts a flow chart illustrating a second example method fortoken-less ticketing. This method may be performed by the system of FIG.6.

FIG. 9 depicts a flow chart illustrating a third example method fortoken-less ticketing. This method may be performed by the system of FIG.6.

FIG. 10 depicts a flow chart illustrating a fourth example method fortoken-less ticketing. This method may be performed by the system of FIG.6.

FIG. 11 depicts a flow chart illustrating a fifth example method fortoken-less ticketing. This method may be performed by the system of FIG.6.

FIG. 12 depicts an example biometric ticketing system.

FIG. 13 depicts a flow chart illustrating a first example method forbiometric ticketing. This method may be performed by the biometricticketing system of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 depicts a flow chart illustrating a second example method forbiometric ticketing. This method may be performed by the biometricticketing system of FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 depicts a flow chart illustrating a first example method forperforming an action using ticketing information that may be used withthe method of FIG. 14. This method may be performed by the biometricticketing system of FIG. 12.

FIG. 16 depicts a flow chart illustrating a second example method forperforming an action using ticketing information that may be used withthe method of FIG. 14. This method may be performed by the biometricticketing system of FIG. 12.

FIG. 17 depicts a flow chart illustrating a third example method forbiometric ticketing. This method may be performed by the biometricticketing system of FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description that follows includes sample systems, apparatuses,methods, and computer program products that embody various elements ofthe present disclosure. However, it should be understood that thedescribed disclosure may be practiced in a variety of forms in additionto those described herein.

Having people present physical tokens (such as paper tickets for abaseball game or entry into another ticketed area) or physical evidenceof such tokens (such as electronic tokens presented via an electronicdevice such as a smart phone) may be burdensome for both the people andthe security screening process. A person may be burdened by obtainingsuch a physical token and having it in hand when proceeding through aticketing checkpoint. Ticketing may be burdened by having to ensure thatan appropriate physical ticket is provided.

Further, tokens such as tickets are often printed documents and/orelectronic representations thereof. As typical ticketing systems may beunaware of the actual source of such printed documents or electronicrepresentations, ticketing systems may be unable to detect forgeries.Additionally, even when the tokens were authorized at the time they wereissued to a person, ticketing systems may have no way of ascertainingwhether or not they have subsequently been cancelled or otherwisemodified.

The present disclosure relates to systems, methods, apparatuses, andcomputer program products for biometric ticketing, or physicaltoken-less ticketing using biometrics. In some implementations, a personmay be identified using a digital representation of a biometric.Ticketing information may be ascertained based on the identification.The ticketing information may be provided, actions may be performedusing the ticketing information, and so on.

In various implementations, a person may provide biometric data to acheckpoint device as part of a ticketing system. A digitalrepresentation of the biometric data may be used to look up anidentifier for the person from an identification system device. Thedigital representation of the biometric data may not be included in theidentifier. The identifier may be used to obtain ticketing informationfrom a ticketing system, which may be used to determine whether or notto allow the person entry into a ticketed area.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system 100 for boardingpass-less airport security screening for flyers. The system 100 mayinclude a security station computing device 101 communicably coupled toa security back end 103 and an airline computing system 104 via one ormore wired or wireless communication networks 102.

The security station computing device 101 may include one or moreprocessing units 105, non-transitory storage media 106 (which may takethe form of, but is not limited to, a magnetic storage medium; opticalstorage medium; magneto-optical storage medium; read only memory; randomaccess memory; erasable programmable memory; flash memory; and so on),communication units 107, displays 108, and/or biometric readers 109(such as one or more fingerprint or palm print scanners, retinalscanners, gait scanners, cameras, three-dimensional or “3D” sensors, andso on). Similarly, the security back end 103 and/or the airlinecomputing system 104 may include one or more processing units 110 and114, storage media 112 and 116, and/or communication units 111 and 115.Each of the security station computing device 101, the security back end103, and/or the airline computing system 104 may be one or more of avariety of different computing devices such as a desktop computingdevice, a laptop computing device, a tablet computing device, a mobilecomputing device, a smart phone, multiple computing devices in a cloudor other computing system configuration, a server computing device, andso on.

The processing unit 105 of the security station computing device 101 mayexecute one or more instructions stored in the storage media 106 toperform one or more functions for the security station computing device101. For example, the security station computing device 101 may obtainbiometric data (such as an image or other electronic representation of afingerprint, palm print, retina scan, facial scan, gait observation,and/or other biometric) from a person. The security station computingdevice 101 may transmit the biometric data to the security back end 103,which may use the biometric data to look up an identifier for the person(such as a frequent flyer identifier or other airline identifier) in adata store 113 stored in the storage media 112. In response, thesecurity station computing device 101 may receive the identifier fromthe security back end 103. The security station computing device 101 maytransmit the identifier to the airline computing system 104, which maylook up electronic boarding pass information for the person based on theidentifier in ticket data 117 stored in the storage media 116. Inresponse, the security station computing device 101 may receive theelectronic boarding pass information from the airline computing system104.

In some implementations, the security station computing device 101 maycache information locally in the storage medium 106. For example, thesecurity station computing device 101 may obtain and store informationregarding identifiers, electronic boarding pass information, and/orother information related to all people who have flights on a particularday. In such an example, the security station computing device 101 mayaccess such locally cached information when biometric data and/or anelectronic representation thereof is received rather than communicatedwith the back end 103 and/or the airline computing system 104 at thattime. This may improve the speed of operation as the security stationcomputing device 101 may not have to wait for a response from the backend 103 and/or the airline computing system 104. Further, this mayimprove fault tolerance of the system 100 as the security stationcomputing device 101 may still be able to function even if the securitystation computing device 101 loses the ability to communicate with theback end 103 and/or the airline computing system 104.

The security station computing device 101 may display the electronicboarding pass information on the display 108 as part of the securityscreening process, such as to clear the person and/or otherwisefacilitate the security screening. For example, security screeningpersonnel may check the displayed boarding pass information to verifythat the person is authorized to enter the airport and then search theperson and/or any belongings of the person to verify that the personmeets one or more security screening criteria. In this way, the securityscreening may be performed without the person providing a boarding passand/or identification other than the biometric.

This may simplify security screening for the security screeningprovider, the person, and/or the airline in a number of ways. Forexample, the person may be freed from having to obtain and/or produce aboarding pass and/or identification. By way of another example, thesecurity screening provider may not have to train security personnel toevaluate the validity of various forms of identification (such as stateissued identification, passports, and so on). Additionally a securityscreening provider may receive authorization to provide different levelsof physical screening.

Additionally, as the electronic boarding pass information is obtainedfrom the airline computing system 104, the electronic boarding passinformation cannot be forged by the person or similar party. Since theelectronic boarding pass information is obtained in real time, theelectronic boarding pass information can include a current status of theelectronic boarding pass information (such as whether or not a ticketassociated with the electronic boarding pass was cancelled subsequent topurchase, current gate and/or delay information, and so on), which maybe used to determine whether or not to clear the person for the securityscreening and/or to provide guidance or assistance to the person, forexample to inform them of a recent gate change.

In some implementations, the security station computing device 101 mayvalidate the electronic boarding pass information. For example, thesecurity station computing device 101 may determine whether or not theelectronic boarding pass information indicates the person has a ticketfor a flight at an airport at which the security station computingdevice 101 operates and/or is otherwise associated within a particulartime period (such as that calendar day, within twenty four hours, and soon). The security station computing device 101 may present suchvalidation information (such as via the display 108) to facilitate thesecurity screening process by security screening personnel.

In various implementations, the above described security screeningprocess may be part of a prescreened security process. In such aprescreened security process, the person may enroll in or be selectedfor a program where the person's identity is authenticated and theperson is determined to be less of a security risk than the generalpopulation such that the person is entitled to a lower securityscreening than the general population upon providing identification.Providing the biometric data to the security station computing device101 may be that identification and proof of participation.

Although the present disclosure is illustrated and described within thecontext of security screening for airports, airlines, and electronicboarding pass information, it is understood that this is an example. Invarious implementations, techniques of the present disclosure may beused in any context where a security screening provider performssecurity screening for a service or other provider that issues any kindof ticket or other kind of token to customers without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

For example, a person may be issued a badge for entering a particulararea such as a garage by an operator of the area. The person may bescreened for entry into the area by third party security. In such anexample, the person may provide a biometric to a security computingdevice. The security computing device may use the biometric to look upan identifier for the person using a security back end. The securitycomputing device may obtain access information from a virtual version ofthe badge using the identifier. The identifier may be associated withthe operator of the area. The virtual version of the badge may beobtained from a computing device of the operator of the area. In thisway, the third party security may be able to determine whether or notthe person can be cleared to access the area without the personpresenting the badge and/or identification other than the biometric, orwhat level of screening the person should experience.

However, it is understood that this is an example and otherimplementations are possible and contemplated. For example, in someimplementations, the operator of the area may perform the screeninginstead of the third party security. In yet other implementations, theoperator and the third party may cooperatively perform the screening.

The system 100 may include a clearinghouse 120 (a central databasecontaining information related to individuals) communicably coupled tothe security station computing device 101 via the communication network102. The clearinghouse 120 (which may include components similar to thesecurity station computing device 101, the security back end 103, and/orthe airline computing system 104) may be operated by a government, asimilarly associated agency, a private sector entity, and so on. Theclearinghouse 120 may store security screening status indicatorsassociated with identifiers for various persons.

The security station computing device 101 may transmit the identifierfor the person (which may be a security status identifier stored by andreceived from the security back end 103) to the clearinghouse 120(whether directly or via the security back end 103) and receive asecurity screening status indicator in response. This security screeningstatus indicator may be provided to personnel operating the securitystation computing device 101 to instruct the personnel regardingsecurity protocols to use in clearing the person and/or otherwiseutilized in clearing the person according to the security protocols.

For example, the clearinghouse 120 may be operated by a governmentagency as part of a prescreened security process. The clearinghouse 120may store security screening status indicators for persons who have beenprescreened and are thus eligible for a reduced security screeningprocess. In such an example, the security station computing device 101may transmit the identifier for the person to the clearinghouse 120 andreceive back a security screening status indicator that indicateswhether or not the person is eligible for the reduced screening process.

However, it is understood that this is an example and that the securityscreening status indicator may include other information. For example,in some implementations, the security screening status indicator mayindicate that a person is a heightened security risk and should bescreened using a heightened security process.

In various implementations, the system 100 may include both theclearinghouse 120 and the airline computing system 104 and theidentifier may be utilized to obtain electronic boarding passinformation from the airline computing system 104 and a securityscreening status indicator from the clearinghouse 120. However, in otherimplementations, the system 100 may include one of the clearinghouse 120(to which one or more identifiers may be communicated to obtain thesecurity screening status indicator) or the airline computing system 104(to which one or more identifiers may be communicated to obtain theelectronic boarding pass information). Various configurations arepossible and contemplated.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method 200 for boarding pass-lessairport security screening for flyers. This method 200 may be performedby the system 100 of FIG. 1.

At 201, a computing device may operate. At 202, the computing device maydetermine whether or not a new person is to be cleared as part of asecurity screening process. If not, the flow may return to 201 where thecomputing device continues to operate. Otherwise, the flow may proceedto 203.

At 203, after the computing device determines a new person is to becleared, the computing device may prompt for the person to provide abiometric. The flow may then proceed to 204 where the computing devicedetermines whether or not the requested biometric has been provided. Ifnot, the flow may return to 203 where the computing device continues toprompt the person to provide the biometric. Otherwise, the flow mayproceed to 205.

At 205, after the requested biometric is provided, the computing devicemay look up the identity of the person. The computing device may look upthe identity of the person by transmitting the biometric to a back endand receiving an identifier such as a frequent flyer number or otherairline identifier from the back end in response. The back end may matchthe biometric to a user account or other data store entry thatidentifies the person associated with the biometric along with otherinformation. For example, the information may include name, address,phone number, driver's license or identification card number, passportnumber, one or more frequent flyer numbers, other airline identifiers,and/or other identifiers. The flow may then proceed to 206.

At 206, the computing device may transmit the identifier to an airlinecomputing system. The airline computing system may use the identifier tolook up real time boarding pass information and/or other real timeinformation related to flights or other tickets associated with theidentifier. The flow may then proceed to 207 where the computing devicereceives electronic boarding pass information from the airline computingsystem in response to transmitting the identifier.

Next, the flow may proceed to 208 where the computing device may verifythe electronic boarding pass information. Such verification may includedetermining whether or not to clear the person for security screening.For example, said determining operation may include the computing deviceverifying that the electronic boarding pass information indicates thatthe person has a flight at the airport associated with the computingdevice, that the flight is that day or within a certain time period(such as twenty four hours), and so on. If the computing devicesuccessfully verifies the electronic boarding pass information, the flowproceeds to 209. Otherwise, if the computing device unsuccessfullyattempts to verify the electronic boarding pass information, the flowproceeds to 210.

At 209, after the computing device successfully verifies the electronicboarding pass information, the computing device displays the electronicboarding pass information. This display of the electronic boarding passinformation may be part of a security screening process, such as toclear the person and/or otherwise facilitate the security screening. Thedisplay may present any verifications that were performed as well asvarious information about the person and/or the electronic boarding passinformation.

At 210, after the computing device unsuccessfully attempts to verify theelectronic boarding pass information, the computing device may output anerror message before the flow returns to 201 and the computing devicecontinues to operate. Such an error may include errors that the persondoes not have a flight at the airport associated with the computingdevice, the person has been flagged (such as on a no flight or similarscreening list), the person does not have a flight that day or withinthe certain time period, the person has no electronic boarding passinformation, the person could not be identified, and/or any other sucherror.

Although the example method 200 is illustrated and described asincluding particular operations performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, variousorders of the same, similar, and/or different operations may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, although 205-207 are illustrated and described as lookingup the identity of a person, transmitting an identifier to the airlinecomputing system, and receiving electronic boarding pass informationfrom the airline computing system, it is understood that this is anexample. In various cases, one or more such operations may result in anerror. For example, the identity of a person may not be able to beascertained (such as where the biometric is not matched to anything inthe back end) and an identifier may thus not be obtainable, the identityof a person may be ascertained but the back end may not store anyidentifiers, the airline computing system may not have any boarding passinformation associated with the identifier, and so on. In such cases,the flow may proceed in the event of an error from any of 205-207 to 210without proceeding through any of the other subsequent illustratedoperations.

By way of another example, 203-204 is illustrated and described asprompting and receiving a single biometric. However, in variousimplementations, a system may first attempt to identify a person using afirst type of biometric. If the person cannot be identified using thefirst type of biometric, the system may then divert the person andattempt to identify him using a second type of biometric. For example,the first type of biometric may be one where identification may beperformed faster, less burdensomely, and so on (e.g., facial or gaitrecognition). Similarly, the second type of biometric may be one whereidentification may be performed slower, more burdensomely, and so onthan the first type of biometric (e.g., fingerprint or iris scan). Inthis way, the system may attempt to minimize time and effort forbiometric identification by using the first type of biometric wheneverpossible and resorting to the second type of biometric whenidentification using the first type of biometric is not successful.

Additionally, in some implementations, one or more additional operationsmay be performed. For example, FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating anexample of additional operations 300 that may be performed as part oflooking up the identity of the person 205 of the method 200 of FIG. 2.

At 301, the computing device determines whether or not the biometricmatches an identity or other entry in the data store of the back end.This may be determined by the computing device communicating with theback end. If so, the flow may proceed to 305. Otherwise, the flow mayproceed to 302.

At 302, after the computing device determines the biometric does notmatch an identity or other entry in the data store of the back end, thecomputing device may prompt for enrollment. This may be because the lackof a match between the biometric and an identity in the data store ofthe back end may mean that the person has not enrolled in the system forboarding pass-less airport security screening with which the computingdevice is associated. As such, the person may be prompted to enroll.Such enrollment may involve the participation of security personnel atthe computing device to authenticate the identity of the user, such aswhere such security personnel verify a physical form of identificationsuch as a state issued driver's license or identification card.

The flow may then proceed to 303 where the computing device maydetermine whether or not the person has enrolled. If so, the flow mayproceed to 305. Otherwise, the flow may proceed to 304 where thecomputing device may output an error that the person is not enrolled.

At 305, after the computing device determines the biometric matches anidentity or other entry in the data store of the back end, the computingdevice may determine whether or not an airline or other identifier isstored in the data store of the back end. This may also be determined bythe computing device communicating with the back end. If so, the flowmay proceed to 308 where the computing device may transmit the airlineor other identifier to the airline computing system. Otherwise, the flowmay proceed to 306.

At 306, the computing device may prompt the person to provide theairline or other identifier. The flow may then proceed to 307 where thecomputing device determines whether or not the airline or otheridentifier is provided. If so, the flow may proceed to 308 where thecomputing device may transmit the airline or other identifier to theairline computing system. Otherwise, the flow may proceed to 304 wherethe computing device may output an error that electronic boarding passinformation cannot be obtained.

Although the additional operations 300 are illustrated and described asincluding particular operations performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, variousorders of the same, similar, and/or different operations may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, in some implementations, a person may not be able to enrollat the computing device. In such an implementation, the flow may proceedfrom 301 directly to 304 and the person may utilize other means toenroll.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a boarding pass-less airlineprocessing system 400. The system 400 may include an airline stationcomputing device 401 communicably coupled to a security back end 103 andan airline computing system 104 via one or more wired or wirelesscommunication networks 102 (which in some implementations may be thesecurity back end 103, the airline computing system 104, and/or thenetwork 102 of the system 100 of FIG. 1).

Similar to the security station computing device 101 of the system 100of FIG. 1, the airline station computing device 401 may include one ormore processing units 405, non-transitory storage media 406,communication units 407, displays 408, and/or biometric readers 409. Theprocessing unit 405 may execute one or more instructions stored in thestorage media 406 to perform one or more functions related to check inof flyers (such as purchasing flights or upgrades to existing flights,confirming that a person will be on a flight, assigning seat numbers,checking baggage, and so on), boarding of flyers (such as allowing aperson on board a flight, confirming that the person has gone on boardthe flight, and so on), and so on.

For example, the processing unit 405 may execute instructions allowingthe airline station computing device 401 to obtain biometric data from aperson, transmit the biometric data to the security back end 103,receive an identifier for the person from the security back end 103,transmit the identifier to the airline computing system 104, and receiveelectronic boarding pass information from the airline computing system104. The airline station computing device 401 may then display theelectronic boarding pass information on the display 408 as part ofand/or to otherwise facilitate check in, boarding, and/or otheroperations.

In this way, a person may be able to check in, board, and/or participatein other operations without obtaining a boarding pass and/or providingidentification other than the biometric. When combined with the system100 of FIG. 1, a person may be able to proceed through an entire airportexperience without ever obtaining a boarding pass and/or providingidentification other than the biometric. This may be a less burdensomeprocess for flyers and/or airlines than a traditional airline processingsystem. This may also be more cost effective for airlines as they may beable to omit issuing boarding passes to flyers, training staff tovalidate various forms of identification, and so on.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method 500 for boarding pass-lessairline processing. This method 500 may be performed by the system 400of FIG. 4.

At 501, a computing device may operate. At 502, the computing device maydetermine whether or not a new customer is to be processed. Suchprocessing may be for check in, boarding, and/or other airlineprocessing operations. If not, the flow may return to 501 where thecomputing device continues to operate. Otherwise, the flow may proceedto 503.

At 503, after the computing device determines a new customer is to beprocessed, the computing device may prompt for the person to provide abiometric. The flow may then proceed to 504 where the computing devicemay transmit the biometric to a back end of a security system. The backend of the security system may match the biometric to a user account orother data store entry that identifies the person associated with thebiometric and may provide an airline and/or other identifier inresponse.

Next, the flow may proceed to 505 where the computing device determineswhether or not an airline and/or other identifier is received from theback end of the security system in response to transmitting theidentifier. If not, the flow may proceed to 506. Otherwise, the flow mayproceed to 507.

At 506, after the computing device determines that the airline and/orother identifier for the person is not received, the computing devicemay output an error message. The flow may then return to 501 where thecomputing device continues to operate.

At 507, after the computing device determines that the airline and/orother identifier for the person is received, the computing device maylook up ticket data and/or other boarding pass information based on theairline and/or other identifier. For example, the computing device maytransmit the airline and/or other identifier to an airline computingsystem and receive the ticket data and/or other boarding passinformation in response.

Next, the flow may proceed to 508 where the computing device may performone or more check in, boarding, and/or other airline processingoperations using the ticket data and/or other boarding pass information.The flow may then return to 501 where the computing device continues tooperate.

Although the example method 500 is illustrated and described asincluding particular operations performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, variousorders of the same, similar, and/or different operations may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, the example method 500 is illustrated and described at505-506 as outputting an error message if an identifier for the personis not received. However, in various implementations, the computingdevice may utilize other mechanisms to identify the person if anidentifier is not received. For example, the computing device may directan operator to manually identify the person by having the person producea state issued driver's license or identification card, passport, orother form of identification. Various configurations are possible andcontemplated.

By way of another example, 503 is illustrated and described as promptinga person to provide a biometric. However, in various implementations, asystem may first attempt to identify a person using a first type ofbiometric that can be obtained automatically and prompt the person for asecond type of biometric that the person provides if the person cannotbe identified using the first type of biometric with a sufficient levelof confidence. For example, a camera may automatically scan faces and/orgaits of people and attempt to identify them. If a person cannot beidentified based on the scan of their face and/or gait with sufficientconfidence, the system may prompt the person to provide a fingerprintand/or allow a retina scan.

By way of yet another example, the example method 500 is illustrated anddescribed prompting a person to provide a biometric, identifying theperson based on the biometric, looking up ticket data based on theidentification, and performing check in, boarding, and/or other airlineprocessing using the ticket data. However, it is understood that this isan example. In some implementations, information that a person hasentered an airport and/or passed security may be obtained. Passivebiometric readers (such as cameras) may monitor gate, lounge, or otherareas for people who have been identified as having entered the airportand/or passed security. For example, facial images and/or gaits may beanalyzed based on known present people to determine when such peopleenter gate, lounge, or other areas. Various actions may then beperformed, such as offering an amenity based on a loyalty status orother qualification. For example, bottled water may be offered to rewardaccount members when those members enter a gate area. By way of anotherexample, first class passengers may be escorted to the front of a queueto board a plane upon entry to a gate area if boarding has commenced.Various configurations are possible and contemplated without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 depicts a system 600 for token-less ticketing. The system 600 mayinclude a checkpoint device 601, an identification system device 603,and a ticketing system device 604. The checkpoint device 601, theidentification system device 603, and/or the ticketing system device 604may be communicably connected via one or more wired or wirelesscommunication networks 602.

The checkpoint device 601 may receive one or more biometrics directly orindirectly from one or more people. The checkpoint device 601 maydirectly receive a biometric when the biometric reader 609 and/oranother component incorporated into the checkpoint device 601 receivesthe biometric. The checkpoint device 601 may indirectly receive abiometric when the checkpoint device 601 received the biometric and/or adigital representation thereof from another device (such as a biometricreader 609 that is separate from the checkpoint device 601 but iscommunicably coupled to the checkpoint device 601). For example, aperson may use an application on his mobile device to scan an image ofhis face and the application may transmit the scan to the checkpointdevice 601.

The checkpoint device 601 may provide a digital representation of thereceived biometric (such as one or more images, hashes, and/or otherabstracted, encoded, and so on electronic representations of thereceived biometric). The digital representation of the receivedbiometric may be provided to the identification system device 603. Theidentification system device 603 may identify the person based on thedigital representation of the received biometric and ascertain anidentifier for the person using the digital representation of thereceived biometric. The identification system may provide theidentifier. The identifier may be provided to the ticketing systemdevice 604. The ticketing system device 604 may ascertain ticketinginformation for the person using the identifier. The ticketing systemdevice 604 may provide the ticketing information. The ticketinginformation may be provided to the checkpoint device 601. The checkpointdevice 601 may present the ticketing information and/or determinewhether to approve or deny the person for entry based on the ticketinginformation.

For example, the checkpoint device 601 may be associated with entryscreening into a ticketed area, such as entry into a venue for asporting event, a flight, a vehicle rental, a lodging rental, a concert,a performance, a movie, and so on. The ticketing information mayindicate whether or not the person is entitled to (i.e., has a ticket orsimilar authorization for) entry. For example, the ticketing informationmay indicate that the person has purchased a ticket for the event forwhich entry is being screened. Alternatively, the ticket information mayindicate the person is not authorized and should be denied entry. Forexample, the ticket information may indicate that the person has notpurchased a required ticket, the person already entered (such as wherethe person purchased a ticket but already used it for entry, entry doesnot require a ticket but entrance is limited to a particular number oftimes the person already entered more than the particular number oftimes, or the like), and so on.

In some implementations, an entitlement level may be determined for theperson as opposed to either allowing or denying the person. The personmay be allowed access and/or other actions may be performed based on thedetermined entitlement level. For example, the person may have a VIPentitlement level which allows them access to a main area and abackstage area whereas another person may have a general levelentitlement which allows them access to the main area only. By way ofanother example, a person may have a fan club entitlement level whichallows them entrance and a free t-shirt whereas another person who has anon-fan club entitlement level may be allowed entrance but not a freet-shirt.

In various implementations, the checkpoint device 601 and/or a relateddevice may provide various items to the person upon checking the person.For example, a credential such as a paper ticket with a seat assignmentmay be provided. By way of another example, the person may be provided adiscount card allowing them to purchase goods or services within theticketed area at a discount.

In numerous implementations, the checkpoint device 601, theidentification system device 603, and/or the ticketing system device 604may be communicably connected to one or more other systems 620 via thecommunication networks 602. For example, the checkpoint device 601, theidentification system device 603, and/or the ticketing system device 604may be connected to one or more governmental, proprietary, and/or otherage verification databases (such as department of motor vehiclesdatabases, state identification databases, and so on), suspect person orother security list databases, and so on. For example, one or moredevices of the system 600 may verify the age of a person along withticket information as part of determining whether or not to allow aperson entry (such as where a concert is a twenty-one or over show) andthe device(s) may communicate with such databases as part of screeningfor entry. By way of another example, one or more devices of the system600 may ascertain whether or not the person is listed in a suspectperson or other security list database as part of determining whether ornot to allow a person entry (such as where entry is denied and/orsecurity screening and/or heightened security screening is to beperformed on people listed as having active warrants, listed onterrorist watch lists, and so on) and the device(s) may communicate withsuch databases as part of screening for entry.

In various implementations, the checkpoint device 601 may include one ormore processing units 605, non-transitory storage media 606 (which maytake the form of, but is not limited to, a magnetic storage medium;optical storage medium; magneto-optical storage medium; read onlymemory; random access memory; erasable programmable memory; flashmemory; and so on), communication units 607, displays 608 or otherpresentation components, biometric readers 609 (such as one or morefingerprint or palm print scanners, retinal scanners, iris scanners,cameras and/or 3D sensors that capture a facial biometric, cameras thatdetect the gait of a person, and so on), and/or other components.Similarly, the identification system device 603 and/or the ticketingsystem device 604 may include one or more processing units 610 and/or614, storage media 612 and/or 616, communication units 611 and/or 615,and/or other components. Each of the checkpoint device 601, theidentification system device 603, and/or the ticketing system device 604may be one or more of a variety of different computing devices such as adesktop computing device, a laptop computing device, a tablet computingdevice, a mobile computing device, a smart phone, multiple computingdevices in a cloud or other cooperative or other computing systemconfiguration, a server computing device, and so on.

The processing unit 605 of the checkpoint device 601 may execute one ormore instructions stored in the storage media 606 to perform one or morefunctions for the checkpoint device 601. For example, the checkpointdevice 601 may obtain biometric data (such as an image or otherelectronic representation of a fingerprint, palm print, retina scan,iris scan, gait, and/or other biometric) from a person. In someimplementations, the checkpoint device 601 may transmit a digitalrepresentation of the biometric data to the identification system device603, which may use the digital representation of the biometric data tolook up an identifier for the person (such as a name of the person, anemail of the person, a phone number of the person, a ticketing systemaccount number for the person, a state identification number for theperson, a social security number for the person, combinations thereof,portions thereof, and so on) in identification information 613 stored inthe storage media 612. Based thereon, the checkpoint device 601 mayreceive the identifier, such as from the identification system device603. The checkpoint device 601 may transmit the identifier to theticketing system device 604, which may look up ticketing information forthe person based on the identifier in ticket data 617 stored in thestorage media 616. In response, the checkpoint device 601 may receivethe ticketing information, such as from the ticketing system device 604.

Although the above describes particular interactions between thecheckpoint device 601, the identification system device 603, and theticketing system device 604, it is understood that this is an example.For example, the identification system device 603 may instead providethe identifier to the ticketing system device 604, which may thenprovide the ticketing information to the identification system device603, the checkpoint device 601, and so on. In various examples, variousintermediate devices may communicate with the checkpoint device 601, theidentification system device 603, and/or the ticketing system device 604to act as intermediaries for one or more of these and/or othercommunications rather than the checkpoint device 601, the identificationsystem device 603, and/or the ticketing system device 604 communicatingdirectly. Various configurations are possible and contemplated withoutdeparting from the present disclosure.

The checkpoint device 601 may display or otherwise present the ticketinginformation on the display 608 as part of the ticketing and/or othercheck in process, such as to clear the person, allow or deny the personentry into the ticketed area, facilitate security and/or heightenedsecurity screening, and so on. For example, security screening personnelmay check the displayed ticketing information to verify that the personis authorized to enter the ticketed area, meets any appropriaterestrictions (such as minimum age, not on a terrorist watch list, or thelike), search the person and/or any belongings of the person to verifythat the person meets one or more security screening criteria, provideguidance or assistance to the person, and so on. In this way, theticketing and/or other check in process may be performed without theperson providing a paper ticket or other physical token and/oridentification other than the biometric.

This may simplify ticketing and/or any other check in process for thecheckpoint device 601 operator, venue operator, and/or other entity in anumber of ways. For example, the person may be freed from having toobtain and/or produce a paper ticket or other physical token and/oridentification. By way of another example, the checkpoint device 601operator, venue operator, and/or other entity may not have to trainsecurity personnel to evaluate the validity of various forms ofidentification (such as state issued identification, passports, and soon). Additionally, the checkpoint device 601 operator, venue operator,and/or other entity may receive authorization to provide differentlevels of physical screening.

Additionally, as the ticketing information may be obtained from theticketing system device 604, such as in real time, the ticketinginformation may not be forged by the person or similar party.Additionally, anti-scalping and/or other protections may be implemented,such as where entry may be denied despite authorization indicated inticketing information if the person is associated with more than athreshold number (such as more than one, more than ten, and so on)number of different tickets or other entitlements, the ticketinginformation indicates improper transfer of the ticketing informationbetween persons, and so on. Since the ticketing information is obtainedin real time, the ticketing information can include a current status ofthe ticketing information (such as whether or not an authorizationassociated with the ticketing information was cancelled subsequent topurchase, current seating assignment, current entitlement level,previous use or entry, and so on), which may be used to determinewhether or not to allow or deny the person entry and/or what kind ofentry or other goods or services to allow or provide to the person.

By way of example, checkpoint devices may be positioned at the entrancesto a ballpark. People may provide a fingerprint, iris scan, or otherbiometric to one of the checkpoint devices. A digital representation ofthe biometrics may be used to identify the people and obtain identifiersfor the people. The identifiers may be used to obtain ticketinginformation for the people. Based on the ticketing information, thepeople may be allowed or denied entry.

In another example, checkpoint devices associated with automatic gatesmay be positioned at the entrances to a concert venue. Cameras and/or 3Dsensors associated with the checkpoint devices may obtain images of thegait of people, of their faces, or other biometrics as they approach theautomatic gates. A first gate may lead into a general ages area whereasa second gate may lead into a twenty-one or over area. A digitalrepresentation of the biometrics may be used to identify the people andobtain identifiers for the people. The identifiers may be used to verifyages of the people and obtain ticketing information for the people.Based on the age verification and the ticketing information, theautomatic gates may open and/or not open for the people. The first gatemay open if the person has purchased or been given a ticket. The secondgate may open if the person has purchased or been given a ticket and isverified to be twenty-one years of age or over.

In still another example, checkpoint devices associated with automaticgates may be positioned at the entrances to a concert venue. Thecheckpoint devices may use “low-touch” biometric readers to identifypeople and open the automatic gates if the people can be identified withsufficient confidence as having purchased a ticket. Low-touch biometricreaders may be biometric readers (such as cameras and/or 3D sensors thatobtain images of the gait of people and/or their faces) that do notrequire as much time and/or effort as “heavier-touch” biometric readers(such as fingerprint scanners). If the checkpoint devices cannotidentify a person with sufficient confidence using the low-touchbiometric readers, the checkpoint devices may not open the automaticgates. Instead, the person may be diverted to a heavier-touch biometricreader, or to an area where the person may provide physicalidentification (such as a driver's license).

In yet another example, checkpoint devices may be arranged on thewalkways into a park for a speaking engagement being presented in thepark. Tickets may not be required, but each unique person may only beallowed in once. People may provide a fingerprint, iris scan, or otherbiometric to one of the checkpoint devices. A digital representation ofthe biometrics may be used to identify the people and obtain identifiersfor the people. The identifiers may be used to obtain ticketinginformation for the people, which may indicate whether or not the personhas previously entered rather than any purchased ticket. Based on theticketing information, the people may be allowed or denied entry.

By way of another example, checkpoint devices may be arranged at theentry to a museum. The checkpoint devices may biometrically identifypeople and determine exhibits that have been added or changed since thepeople last visited. Directions or other information about suchadditions or changes may be provided. For example, a map showing a pathbetween additions and/or changes may be printed, sent to a person'smobile device, and so on.

By way of another example, checkpoint devices may be arranged at theentry to a theme park. The checkpoint devices may biometrically identifypeople and determine preferences stored for the people. Variousfunctions may be performed according to those preferences. For example,a person may have preferences set to automatically book a place in lineon particular rides. Upon identification, places in line on thoseparticular rides may be booked. Confirmation of such reservations may beprovided, such as via a printout, messages sent to the person's emailaccount or mobiles devices, and so on.

In some implementations, the checkpoint device 601 may validate theticketing information. For example, the checkpoint device 601 maydetermine whether or not the ticketing information indicates the personhas a ticket for entry at the venue or other ticketed area which thecheckpoint device 601 operates and/or is otherwise associated within aparticular time period (such as that calendar day, within twenty fourhours, and so on), the particular entrance at which the checkpointdevice 601 operates (such as where a floor level ticket enters through afirst entrance whereas a balcony level ticket enters through a secondentrance, where general admission tickets can only enter through a mainentrance whereas VIP tickets can enter through a main entrance and/orexpedited entrances, and so on), and so on. The security checkpointdevice 601 may present such validation information (such as via thedisplay 608) to facilitate the ticketing and/or any other check inprocess by operating personnel.

In various implementations, the checkpoint device 601 may communicatewith an access restriction device as part of allowing or denying aperson entry. For example, the checkpoint device 601 may be a devicethat obtains the biometric but does not restrict access of the person tothe ticketed area. Instead, an associated restriction device, such as anautomated turnstile, may restrict access of the person to the ticketedarea. The checkpoint device 601 (and/or another device and/orintermediate device) may communicate with the access restriction deviceregarding whether to allow or deny the person. If the access restrictiondevice receives an indication to allow the person, the accessrestriction device may operate to allow the person entry to the ticketarea. For example, an automated turnstile may open and/or otherwiseallow the person to move through into the ticketed area.

In some examples, the checkpoint device 601 may determine whether or notan identified person has a ticket or other entitlement to enter aticketed or other area. In various implementations, the checkpointdevice 601 may determine that the person does not have such a ticket orother entitlement, and may then prompt the person to purchase such. Insome cases, the system 600 may obtain payment information for the personand obtain such a ticket or other entitlement accordingly.

In various cases, the system 600 may determine a person has a ticket butthat superior tickets are available. For example, the system 600 maydetermine that a person has an upper deck seat at a concert venue andthat front row seats are still available. As such, the system 600 mayoffer the person the opportunity to upgrade their seating assignment atthe time that their ticketing information is verified.

In some examples, the system 600 may determine that a first person has aticket but that a second person who the first person knows may also havea ticket. The system 600 may inform the first person of this fact and/oroffer the first person the opportunity to sit with the second person. Insome cases, the first person may not even be aware that the secondperson has a ticket. In various cases, the system 600 may determine thatthe first person knows the second person based on “friend” informationthe first person or second person have provided, information obtainedfrom various social media networks, and so on.

In numerous examples, a person may attempt to enter a venue withoutproviding proof of a purchased ticket. The system 600 may identify sucha person by capturing an image of the person's face, identify theperson, access payment information for the person, and purchase a ticketfor the person automatically. Unauthorized entry may be assumed to beauthorization to charge the person for a ticket and as such the system600 may automatically charge people who enter without legitimatelypurchasing tickets. In some cases, a collection agency or otherauthority may be used to obtain payment for a person who has entered butdoes not have payment information available to the system 600. In otherimplementations, the system 600 may transmit information about theunauthorized entry, such as including the digital representation of thebiometric, to a law enforcement or other authority.

In various examples, the system 600 may accommodate one or more rewardsprograms. For example, the other systems 620 may include a reward systemcomputing device such as a frequent ticket buyer program, a credit cardrewards program used to purchase tickets, and so on. Such a rewardsprogram may be incorporated into the system 600 in a variety of ways.

For example, season ticket holders at a ballpark may be entitled to halfprice concessions at any concession stand at the ballpark. Screening atan entrance of the park may notify a person of such an entitlement bypresenting them with an associated coupon. Alternatively, a seasonticketholder may be biometrically identified upon arrival at concessionstands in the ballpark and any discount may be applied to their order atthe concession stand. The system 600 may additionally send the personnotifications while they are in the ballpark regarding specials,discounts to which they are entitled to, freebies they are entitled to,and so on. For example, the system 600 may transmit messages to aperson's mobile telephone or other mobile device during a ballgame thatthey have earned a free hot dog and to come and claim such at anassociated hot dog stand, where soft drinks are now 50% off.

In various examples, concessions or similar stations within a ticketedarea may also verify entitlement to be in the ticketed area in additionto implementing rewards programs. For example, a person may sneak into aballpark and then have their facial image captured while attempting topurchase a hot dog. The system 600 may identify the person, determinethat the person was never verified as having a ticket at a stationentering the ticketed area, and summon security to apprehend the personor eject them from the ticketed area.

By way of another example, the system 600 may recognize when a personattending a ticketed event at a venue has attended a certain number ofevents. In some cases, a ticketing agency may provide ticketing forvarious different events at a number of different venues and may operatea rewards program for people who attend various ticketed events. Upondetermining that a person has attended a particular number of events,the person may be provided a reward. The reward may be an upgradedseating assignment, discounts on food or beverages, free tickets toother events, and so on. In some implementations, messages may be sentto a person, such as to their email account, that they are approaching areward level after they check in to an event. For example, an email maybe sent to a person after a camera recognizes them entering a concertand their ticket is automatically verified that they qualify for a freeticket if they purchase food while at the concert.

In yet other examples, the system 600 may recognize an identified personis part of a group and take actions accordingly. For example, anidentified person may be determined to be part of a school group thatall have tickets to a concert. The system 600 may assign seating uponentrance. In such an example, the system 600 may assign all peopledetermined to be part of the school group to the same seating area. Thiscan allow the school group to all sit together, isolate the school groupfrom other people, and so on.

In numerous examples, ticketing information may be associated with apackage. For example, a person may purchase a ticket for a cruise shipas well as various meal and entertainment options associated with thecruise ship. The system 600 may identify the person upon entry to thecruise ship as well as determine the various entitlements associatedwith the person for various meal and entertainment venues on the cruiseship. As such, the person may be tracked and/or verified at variousvenues throughout the cruise ship and allowed or denied various accessto the various venues based on the package to which the person isentitled.

Similarly, a person may have a special line pass associated with anamusement park. When the person purchases entrance to the amusementpark, their special line pass may be associated with them. This mayallow them to board rides through special accelerated lines, allow themto access areas to which other ticketed people are prevented from going,and so on. Various arrangements are possible and contemplated.

In other examples, the system 600 may monitor people after they haveentered a ticketed area and take various actions. For example, a concertvenue may use cameras and facial images of identified people to tracktheir actions throughout the concert venue. The concert venue mayperform a variety of actions, such as tracking when a person approachesa concession stand and does not purchase in order to send text messagesto them regarding discount offers for that concession stand.

By way of another example, the system 600 may use facial recognition todetermine that the person has become intoxicated at a venue and mayoffer to call the person a cab, summon security, and/or perform similaractions. In other examples, the system 600 may track alcohol or otherpurchases made by the person by identifying them using biometrics whenpurchases are made and making assumptions about potential intoxicationusing such purchase data rather than facial or other recognition ofactual intoxication. Various arrangements are possible and contemplated.

The above illustrates and describes the system 600 using multipledevices that communicate with each other. However, in someimplementations, the network 602 may become unavailable. In such acircumstance, one or more devices may delay operations until the network602 is again available, may cache information from other devices inorder to be able to continue to function when the network 602 becomesunavailable, and so on. Various configurations are possible andcontemplated.

For example, in some implementations, the system 600 may store a portionof the identification data 613 and/or the ticket data 617 at thecheckpoint device 601 or similar device local to the checkpoint device601. In some examples of such implementations, portions of theidentification data 613 and/or the ticket data 617 corresponding topeople who have tickets for an event associated with the checkpointdevice 601 may be stored at the checkpoint device 601, such as in thestorage media 606. In this way, the checkpoint device 601 may be able toidentify people who may have tickets for the event and/or verify theirtickets without connecting to the identification system device 603and/or the ticketing system device 604 via the network 602.

In such an implementation, various techniques may be used to protect theidentification data 613 and/or the ticket data 617 from unauthorizedaccess via the checkpoint device 601. For example, the identificationdata 613 and/or the ticket data 617 may be in an encrypted or protectedarea or software space which can receive queries from the checkpointdevice 601 regarding the identification data 613 and/or the ticket data617 as if the checkpoint were communicating with the identificationsystem device 603 and/or the ticketing system device 604, but cannotaccess outside of such a query. In this way, the data may be stored atthe checkpoint device 601 while still separating access to the digitalrepresentation of biometrics, identifiers, and ticketing information.

Similarly, in various implementations, one or more portions of theidentification data 613 may be stored at the ticketing system device 604or other device and/or one or more portions of the ticket data 617 maybe stored at the identification system device 603. For example, subsetsof the identification data 613 and/or the ticket data 617 may be sostored based on association with a particular event, location, venue,and so on. Similar to the above, various protection mechanisms mayencrypt and/or protect such data in order to maintain access separationof the digital representation of biometrics, identifiers, and ticketinginformation.

Although the above describes caching of information, such as theidentification data 613 and/or the ticket data 617, at devices such asthe ticketing system device 604 or identification system device 603 inthe contexts of the system 600 for token-less ticketing, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, suchcaching could be used in the system 100 for boarding pass-less airportsecurity screening of FIG. 1, the system 400 for boarding pass-lessairline processing of FIG. 4, and so on. For example, in variousimplementations, the system 100 may store portions of the data store 113and/or the ticket data 117 at the security station computing device 101(such as portions corresponding to people who have flights at an airportassociated with the security station computing device 101 on a currentday). In such an example, the data may be encrypted and/or otherwiseprotected to ensure the same access separations implemented by thevarious devices illustrated in FIG. 1 and described above.

In numerous implementations, the system 600 of FIG. 6 may performvarious other functions. For example, the system 600 may be operable totransfer ticketing information between different people. For example,the checkpoint device 601 and/or another device may be operable toreceive a biometric from a transferring party and a transferee party.The identification system device 603 may ascertain identifiers for bothparties using digital representations of the respective biometrics. Theticketing system device 604 may then update stored ticketing informationbased on the transfer, the identifiers, and/or any provided instructionsregarding what ticketing information to transfer and how. Variousarrangements are possible and contemplated without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

In various implementations, the above described ticketing and/or anyother check in process may be part of a prescreened security process. Insuch a prescreened security process, the person may enroll in or beselected for a program where the person is determined to be less of asecurity risk than the general population such that the person isentitled to a lower security screening than the general population uponproviding identification. Providing the biometric data to the checkpointdevice 601 may be that identification and proof of participation.

Although the present disclosure is illustrated and described within thecontext of allowing access to ticketed and/or otherwise authorized entryareas and ticketing information, it is understood that this is anexample. In various implementations, techniques of the presentdisclosure may be used in any context where a screening or checkingentity performs entry authorization determination for a service or otherprovider that issues any kind of ticket or other kind of token tocustomers without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, a person may be issued a pass for entering a particulararea such as a garage by an operator of the area. The person may bescreened for entry into the area by third party security. In such anexample, the person may provide a biometric to a device. The device mayuse a digital representation of the biometric to look up an identifierfor the person associated with the operator of the area using anidentification system and obtain access information from a computingdevice of the operator of the area using the identifier. In this way,the third party security may be able to determine whether or not theperson can be cleared to access the area and/or what kind of screeningto perform on the person without the person presenting a badge,presenting a ticket, entering a code, and/or otherwise providingidentification other than the biometric.

However, it is understood that this is an example and otherimplementations are possible and contemplated. For example, in someimplementations, the operator of the area may perform the screeninginstead of the third party security. In yet other implementations, theoperator and the third party may cooperatively perform the screening.

FIG. 7 depicts a flow chart illustrating a first example method 700 fortoken-less ticketing. This method 700 may be performed by the system 600of FIG. 6.

At 710 a device operates. For example, the device may be the checkpointdevice 601 of the system 600 of FIG. 6. The flow proceeds to 720 wherethe device determines whether or not there is a person to check. If so,the flow proceeds to 730. Otherwise, the flow returns to 710 where thedevice continues to operate.

At 730, after the device determines that there is a person to check, abiometric is obtained from the person. At 740, an identifier is obtainedbased on the biometric. For example, the device may provide a digitalrepresentation of the biometric to an identification system, which mayprovide an identifier obtained using the digital representation of thebiometric. At 750, ticketing information may be obtained based on theidentifier. For example, the identifier may be provided to a ticketingsystem (such as by the device, by the identification system, and so on),which may provide ticketing information obtained using the identifier.

The flow then proceeds to 760 where the device determines whether or notthe person is ticketed and/or authorized to enter a ticketed or otherarea based on the ticketing information and/or other information. If so,the flow proceeds to 770. Otherwise, the flow proceeds to 780.

At 770, after the device determines the person is ticketed, the devicepresents the ticketing information and/or allows the person entry. Theflow then returns to 710 where the device continues to operate.

At 780, after the device determines the person is not ticketed and/or isnot authorized to enter, the device outputs an error. The flow thenreturns to 710 where the device continues to operate.

Although the example method 700 is illustrated and described asincluding particular operations performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, variousorders of the same, similar, and/or different operations may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, the method 700 illustrates and describes determiningwhether or not there is a person to check and obtaining the biometric asseparate, linearly performed operations. However, in variousimplementations, the device may determine there is a person to checkwhen a biometric is received or obtained. Various configurations arepossible and contemplated.

In various examples, this example method 700 may be implemented as agroup of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed by one or more computing devices, such as the checkpointdevice 601 and/or the identification system device 603 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 depicts a flow chart illustrating a second example method 800 fortoken-less ticketing. This method 800 may be performed by the system 600of FIG. 6.

At 801 a device operates. For example, the device may be the checkpointdevice 601 of the system 600 of FIG. 6. The flow proceeds to 802 wherethe device determines whether or not there is a person to check. If so,the flow proceeds to 803. Otherwise, the flow returns to 801 where thedevice continues to operate.

At 803, after the device determines that there is a person to check, abiometric is received for the person. At 804, the device transmits adigital representation of the biometric. For example, the device maytransmit the digital representation of the biometric to anidentification system. At 805, the device receives an identifierobtained using the biometric. For example, the device may receive theidentifier from the identification system after the identificationsystem receives the digital representation of the biometric.

At 806, the device may transmit the identifier. For example, the devicemay transmit the identifier to a ticketing system. At 807, the devicemay receive ticketing information for the person. For example, thedevice may receive the ticketing information from the ticketing systemafter the ticketing system receives the identifier.

The flow then proceeds to 808 where the device determines whether or notthe person is ticketed and/or authorized to enter a ticketed or otherarea based on the ticketing information and/or other information. If so,the flow proceeds to 809. Otherwise, the flow proceeds to 810.

At 809, after the device determines the person is ticketed and/or isauthorized to enter, the device allows the person entry. The flow thenreturns to 801 where the device continues to operate.

At 810, after the device determines the person is not ticketed and/orthe ticketing information indicates to deny the person entry, the devicedenies the person entry. The flow then returns to 801 where the devicecontinues to operate.

By way of example, a device at the entrance to a vehicle rental lot maycontrol entry. The device may biometrically identify a person anddetermine whether or not the person has reserved a vehicle (such as acar, truck, boat, aircraft, and so on) for rental. In this example, theticketing information may indicate that the person has permission for avehicle rental. If so, the person may be allowed to enter and claim therented vehicle. In some cases, various actions may also be performed.For example, the vehicle may be configured according to preferencesstored for the person, offers such as add on insurance or prepaid gasmay be transmitted to the person's mobile device, directions to thevehicle may be provided, and so on.

By way of another example, a device at the entrance to a place oflodging (such as a motel, a hotel, an apartment, and so on) may controlentry to lodgings available for rental. The device may biometricallyidentify a person and determine whether or not the person has rented oneof the lodgings. In this example, the ticketing information may indicatethat the person has permission for a lodging rental. If so, the personmay be allowed to enter. In some cases, various actions may also beperformed. For example, champagne or other perks may be placed in therented lodging for the person based on a reward or loyalty account,offers such as room service may be transmitted to the person's mobiledevice, directions to the rented lodging may be provided, and so on.

Although the example method 800 is illustrated and described asincluding particular operations performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, variousorders of the same, similar, and/or different operations may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, the method 800 is illustrated and described as the devicetransmitting information such as the digital representation of thebiometric and the identifier and receiving information such as thebiometric, the identifier, and the ticketing information. However, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, thisinformation may be exchanged between any number of different devices inany number of different arrangements and/or orders rather than thedevice transmitting and/or receiving the information as shown anddescribed in this example.

In various examples, this example method 800 may be implemented as agroup of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed by one or more computing devices, such as the checkpointdevice 601 and/or the identification system device 603 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 depicts a flow chart illustrating a third example method 900 fortoken-less ticketing. This method 900 may be performed by the system 600of FIG. 6.

At 901 a device operates. For example, the device may be the checkpointdevice 601 of the system 600 of FIG. 6. The flow proceeds to 902 wherethe device determines whether or not there is a person to check. If so,the flow proceeds to 903. Otherwise, the flow returns to 901 where thedevice continues to operate.

At 903, after the device determines that there is a person to check, abiometric is received for the person. At 904, the device transmits adigital representation of the biometric. For example, the device maytransmit the digital representation of the biometric to anidentification system. At 905, the device receives ticketing informationfor the person obtained using an identifier ascertained for the personusing the biometric information. For example, an identification systemmay be used to ascertain the identifier using a digital representationof the biometric and a ticketing system may be used to obtain theticketing information using the identifier.

The flow then proceeds to 906 where the device determines whether or notthe person is ticketed and/or authorized to enter a ticketed or otherarea based on the ticketing information and/or other information. If so,the flow proceeds to 907. Otherwise, the flow proceeds to 908.

At 907, after the device determines the person is ticketed and/or isauthorized to enter, the device allows the person entry. The flow thenreturns to 901 where the device continues to operate.

At 908, after the device determines the person is not ticketed and/orthe ticketing information indicates to deny the person entry, the devicedenies the person entry. The flow then returns to 901 where the devicecontinues to operate.

Although the example method 900 is illustrated and described asincluding particular operations performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, variousorders of the same, similar, and/or different operations may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, the method 900 is illustrated and described as the deviceallowing or denying entry. However, it is understood that this is anexample. In various implementations, the device may communicate based atleast on the ticketing information with an access restriction device(such as an automated gate or turnstile) that may allow or deny theperson access.

In various examples, this example method 900 may be implemented as agroup of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed by one or more computing devices, such as the checkpointdevice 601 and/or the identification system device 603 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 depicts a flow chart illustrating a fourth example method 1000for token-less ticketing. This method 1000 may be performed by thesystem 600 of FIG. 6.

At 1001 a device operates. For example, the device may be theidentification system device 603 of the system 600 of FIG. 6. The flowproceeds to 1002 where the device determines whether or not a digitalrepresentation of a biometric for a person is received. If so, the flowproceeds to 1003. Otherwise, the flow returns to 1001 where the devicecontinues to operate.

At 1003, after the device determines a digital representation of abiometric for a person is received, the device determines an identifierfor the person. The flow proceeds to 1004 where the identifier is usedto obtain ticketing information. For example, the identifier may beprovided to a ticketing system, which may provide the ticketinginformation obtained using the identifier. At 1005, the ticketinginformation is provided. For example, the ticketing information may beprovided to the device that provided the digital representation of thebiometric.

Although the example method 1000 is illustrated and described asincluding particular operations performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, variousorders of the same, similar, and/or different operations may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, the method 1000 is illustrated and described as using theidentifier to obtain the ticketing information and providing theticketing information. However, in some implementations, theseoperations may be omitted. In such implementations, such operations maybe performed as part of another method and/or by various other devices.Various configurations are possible and contemplated.

In various examples, this example method 1000 may be implemented as agroup of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed by one or more computing devices, such as the checkpointdevice 601 and/or the identification system device 603 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 11 depicts a flow chart illustrating a fifth example method 1100for token-less ticketing. This method 1000 may be performed by thesystem 600 of FIG. 6.

At 1101 a device operates. For example, the device may be the ticketingsystem device 604 of the system 600 of FIG. 6. The flow proceeds to 1102where the device determines whether or not an identifier obtained usinga digital representation of a biometric for a person is received. If so,the flow proceeds to 1103. Otherwise, the flow returns to 1101 where thedevice continues to operate.

For example, the device may receive the identifier from anidentification system that obtained the identifier using a provideddigital representation of the biometric. The identification system mayhave received the digital representation of the biometric from one ormore checkpoint devices.

At 1103, after the device determines whether or not an identifierobtained using a digital representation of a biometric for a person isreceived, the device obtains the ticketing information using theidentifier. The flow proceeds to 1104 where the ticketing information isprovided. For example, the device may provide the ticketing informationto an identification system that provided the identifier, a checkpointdevice that provided the digital representation of the biometric, and soon.

Although the example method 1100 is illustrated and described asincluding particular operations performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, variousorders of the same, similar, and/or different operations may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, the method 1100 is illustrated and described as receivingthe identifier obtained using a digital representation of the biometric.However, in some implementations, the device may itself obtain thedigital representation of the biometric and ascertain the identifierusing the digital representation of the biometric. Variousconfigurations are possible and contemplated.

In various examples, this example method 1100 may be implemented as agroup of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed by one or more computing devices, such as the checkpointdevice 601 and/or the identification system device 603 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 12 depicts an example biometric ticketing system 1200. Thebiometric ticketing system 1200 includes a computing device that isoperable to perform biometric ticketing. The computing device mayperform biometric ticketing alone or by interacting with one or moreother computing devices.

Such a computing device may be the point of entry device 1201. In someimplementations, the point of entry device 1201 may be a device locatedat the point of entry to a venue or other area to which access iscontrolled based on ticketing information. As part of performingbiometric ticketing, the point of entry device 1201 may communicate witha number of different devices. For example, the point of entry device1201 may communicate with an identification system 1203, one or moreticketing systems 1204, a venue device 1220, and/or other devices viaone or more networks 1202.

The point of entry device 1201 may receive a digital representation of abiometric. The point of entry device 1201 may identify a person based onthe digital representation of the biometric. Based on theidentification, the point of entry device 1201 may ascertain ticketinginformation based on the identification. The point of entry device 1201may then provide the ticketing information and/or perform one or moreother actions using the ticketing information.

For example, the point of entry device 1201 may receive a digitalrepresentation of a biometric via a biometric reader. A biometric readermay be any component operable to obtain a digital representation of abiometric. In some implementations, the biometric reader may be a cameraand/or 3D sensor that captures an image of a face or portion thereof,such as an image of an iris, and/or a gait of the person. In otherexamples, the biometric reader may be a fingerprint or palm printscanner.

The identification system 1203 may be used to identify a person based onthe digital representation of the biometric. For example, the point ofentry device 1201 may transmit the digital representation of thebiometric to the identification system 1203. The identification system1203 may compare the digital representation of the biometric to storedbiometric data. A person may be identified when the comparison resultsin a match or substantial match between the digital representation ofthe biometric and stored biometric data that is associated with theperson.

The ticketing system 1204 may be used to obtain ticketing information.For example, an identifier may be associated with the biometric dataand/or the person in the identification system 1203. The identifier maybe a ticketing account number, a loyalty or rewards account associatedwith the person, a social security number or other identifier, a login,an email, a phone number, an account number, an arbitrary number, and/orany other identifier that may be used to identify the person. Theidentifier may be provided to the ticketing system 1204 after theidentification system 1203 identifies the person. For example, theticketing system 1204 may provide the identifier to the point of entrydevice 1201 to transmit to the ticketing system 1204, provide theidentifier to the ticketing system 1204, and so on.

In some examples, the ticketing information may be provided to the venuedevice 1220. For example, in some implementations, the venue device 1220may operate an access control device (such as a turnstile, gate arm, orthe like) that controls access to a venue. In such an example, theticketing information may be provided to the venue device 1220 and thevenue device 1220 may operate the access control device to allow or denyaccess accordingly. Alternatively, another device, such as the point ofentry device 1201, may evaluate the ticketing information and instructthe venue device 1220 to operate the access control device accordingly.By way of another example, in various implementations, the point ofentry device 1201 may operate the access control device and may transmitinformation about access allowed, access denied, ticketing informationevaluated, and so on to the venue device 1220. The venue device 1220 mayuse this information in a variety of ways. For example, the informationmay be used to track movement of people, presence of people in a venueor other area, determine that a particular person is present at thevenue as opposed to another person using the person's ticket, to tracktiming of entry, determine operations information, provide personalizedservices, and so on.

In various examples, the ticketing system 1204 may include a firstticketing system device operated by a first ticketing issuer and asecond ticketing system device operated by a second ticketing issuer. Insuch examples, the ticketing information may include ticketinginformation obtained from both the first ticketing system and the secondticketing system. In some implementations, a single identifier may beused to obtain the ticketing information from both the first ticketingsystem and the second ticketing system. In other implementations,separate identifiers may be used.

Each of the devices shown and discussed with respect to the biometricticketing system 1200 may be implemented using one or more differentelectronic devices. Such electronic devices may include any sort ofcomputing device having a variety of different components, such as oneor more processors or other processing units, communication components,biometric readers (such as cameras, fingerprint sensors, and so on),non-transitory storage media, displays, input devices, and so on.Communication between the various devices may be encrypted, obscured,and/or otherwise secured. Various arrangements are possible andcontemplated without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In various implementations, the biometric ticketing system 1200 mayperform any of the functions described above with respect to the system600 of FIG. 6. Various configurations are possible and contemplatedwithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 depicts a flow chart illustrating a first example method 1300for biometric ticketing. This method 1300 may be performed by thebiometric ticketing system 1200 of FIG. 12.

At 1310, a digital representation of a biometric may be received. Forexample, the digital representation of the biometric may be a scan of afingerprint received from a fingerprint scanner, a facial image orportion thereof (such as an iris) received from a camera, and so on.

At 1320, a person may be identified using the digital representation ofthe biometric. For example, the digital representation of the biometricmay be compared against stored biometric data associated with a numberof different people. A person may be identified based on a match betweenthe digital representation of the biometric and stored biometric dataassociated with the person.

At 1330, ticketing information may be ascertained based on theidentification. For example, ticketing information associated with theperson may be obtained. In some examples, identification of the personmay include determining an identifier associated with the identifiedperson. The ticketing information may be associated with the identifier.As such, the ticketing information may be obtained using the identifier.

For example, an identification system may be operable to provide theidentifier associated with biometric data matching the digitalrepresentation of the biometric. One or more ticketing systems may beoperable to provide ticketing information associated with the identifierwhen the identifier is provided.

At 1340, the ticketing information may be provided. The ticketinginformation may be provided as part of performing a variety of differentactions, including determining whether or not to allow access based onthe ticketing information.

For example, the method 1300 may be performed by a device that isoperable to control access into a venue. In such an example, theticketing information may be provided to a subroutine of the device thatallows or denies access based on whether or not the ticketinginformation indicates that the person has a valid ticket. By way ofanother example, the method 1300 may be performed by a device that isoperable to communicate with an access control device at a venue, suchas a turnstile. The device may provide the ticketing information to theaccess control device and the access control device may allow or denyaccess based on the ticketing information. In yet another example, themethod 1300 may be performed by the person's mobile telephone or othermobile computing device. In such an example, the mobile telephone mayprovide the ticketing information to an access control device at a venue(such as by presenting a barcode that may be scanned by a scanningcomponent of the access control device, by transmitting a message to awireless receiver of the access control device, and so on). Variousconfigurations are possible and contemplated without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

Although the example method 1300 is illustrated and described asincluding particular operations performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, variousorders of the same, similar, and/or different operations may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, 1330 is illustrated and described as ascertaining ticketinginformation. However, it is understood that this is an example. In someimplementations, ascertaining ticketing information may be a portion ofa larger operation. For example, ascertaining ticketing information maybe part of the larger operation of obtaining ticketing information fromanother device. Various configurations are possible and contemplatedwithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

By way of another example, 1340 is illustrated and described asproviding the ticketing information. Providing may include displaying orotherwise presenting the ticketing information (whether encoded orencrypted, encoded in a form that can be scanned or other machinereadable form, and so on), transmitting the ticketing information toanother device, and so on. However, providing may also include providingthe ticketing information to another process executing on the samedevice that makes use of the ticketing information in some way. Variousarrangements are possible and contemplated without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

In various examples, this example method 1300 may be implemented as agroup of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed by one or more computing devices, such as the point ofentry device 1201 and/or the identification system 1203 of FIG. 12.

Returning to FIG. 12, the biometric ticketing system 1200 may beimplemented in a variety of different ways. For example, the point ofentry device 1201 may be a kiosk or other device located at the point ofentry to a venue. In this example, the identification system 1203 may beone or more computing devices located remotely that the point of entrydevice 1201 communicates with in order to identify people using digitalrepresentations of biometrics. In some implementations, the point ofentry device 1201 may communicate with the identification system 1203each time an identification is to be performed.

In other implementations, the point of entry device 1201 may communicatewith the identification system 1203 beforehand, such as by obtaining andstoring information for all people who have both tickets for entrance tothe venue and data stored in the identification system. In such animplementation, the point of entry device 1201 may identify people usingthe locally stored information and then communicate further with theidentification system 1203 if a person cannot be identified using thelocally stored information. This may allow at least some identificationto be performed even if the network 1202 is unavailable. In someexamples of such implementations, the point of entry device 1201 may bea device operated by an entity that operates the identification system1203.

In other examples, the point of entry device 1201 may be an interfacefor an identification system 1203 that is also located at the venue. Insome implementations, the point of entry device 1201 and theidentification system 1203 may even be incorporated into a singledevice. In various implementations, the identification system 1203 maystore a subset of available information (such as data for people whohave tickets for the venue) and identifications may be performed usingthe locally stored information, communicating with one or more externaldata sources if the locally stored information cannot be used toidentify a person. This may allow the system to operate without acurrently functioning external network connection. This may also allowfor faster and more efficient identification using less computingresources by searching a likely subset of available information andescalating to remaining available information if the first search failsrather than searching all available information each time.

In some implementations, the identification system 1203 may storeinformation about where a subset of available information (such as datafor people who have tickets for the venue) is stored in one or moreexternal data sources. The identification system 1203 may use thisinformation by attempting to identify people using the subset and thenresorting to the remaining available information in the one or moreexternal data sources if a person cannot be identified using the subsetof available information. As this may allow less information to beevaluated for most queries, this may improve the speed and resourcesused when communicating with the external data sources to performidentification.

In numerous examples, various other solutions to the network 1202 beingunavailable may be used. For example, the biometric ticketing system1200 may interact with one or more of the person's devices (such as amobile telephone or other mobile device) that may have a cellular orother network connection. In such an example, various devices of thebiometric ticketing system 1200 (such as the point of entry device 1201,the identification system 1203, and so on) may communicate with theperson's device or various applications executing thereon in order touse the network connection of the person's device to communicate withother devices. In this way, the biometric ticketing system 1200 may beable to operate even when the network 1202 is interrupted.

In various examples, the ticketing system 1204 may be a ticketinginformation database for the venue. In some implementations of suchexamples, the ticketing system 1204 and venue device 1220 may beincorporated into a single device. In other examples, the ticketingsystem 1204 may be one or more remote systems that maintain ticketinginformation for one or more venues.

As described above, an identifier for a person may be determined orotherwise obtained when the person is identified. The identifier may beused to obtain ticketing information for the person. The identifier maybe associated with stored biometric data for the person in theidentification system 1203 or other devices in a variety of differentways. For example, the person may provide his identifier to theidentification system 1203. By way of another example, the person mayprovide information regarding an identification system account to theticketing system 1204 and the ticketing system 1204 may then transmitthe identifier to the identification system to link the accounts.

In still other examples, the person may be able to access an interface(such as one provided by the point of entry device 1201 or other device)that is operable to access an account within the ticketing system 1204and/or an account in the identification system 1203. An interfaceoperable to access an account within the ticketing system and/or theidentification system 1203 may allow the person to edit their storedinformation, purchase or transfer tickets, validate tickets, buyadditional services, link ticketing and identification system accounts(such as by using OAuth or similar technology to allow a person to loginto his other account via a web site so that the web site is able toaccess a limited amount of information about the person's other accountin order to link the two accounts), add or edit payment or otherpersonal information, add biometric data, edit biometric data, and/orperform other functions. Various configurations are possible andcontemplated without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In yet other examples, the point of entry device 1201 may be a deviceoperated by the person, such as a mobile telephone or other mobiledevice. The person's device may execute one or more applications forcommunicating with other devices, such as a local or remote deviceforming part or all of the identification system 1203. In such anexample, the point of entry device 1201 may be considered “point ofentry” when it is located at the point of entry for a venue.

In some implementations, the person may provide a biometric to anapplication on his mobile telephone via a biometric reader such as afingerprint sensor, camera, and/or 3D sensor. The application maytransmit a digital representation of the biometric to the identificationsystem 1203. The identification system 1203 may use the digitalrepresentation of the biometric to determine an identifier for theperson, obtain ticketing information from the ticketing system 1204using the identifier, and provide the ticketing information. Forexample, the identification system 1203 may determine that the personhas a valid ticket for the venue, mark the ticket as having been used,and provide the application on the person's mobile telephone proof thatthe ticket has been used. The application may display this proof and theperson may show the display to an agent or device at the venue forentrance. Various configurations are possible and contemplated withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 depicts a flow chart illustrating a second example method 1400for biometric ticketing. This method 1400 may be performed by thebiometric ticketing system 1200 of FIG. 12.

At 1410, a digital representation of a biometric may be received. At1420, an identifier may be determined using the digital representationof the biometric. At 1430, ticketing information may be obtained usingthe identifier. At 1440, one or more actions may be performed using theticketing information.

The action may be a variety of different actions. For example, theaction may include determining whether or not the person has a ticket orother permissions to enter the venue, determining whether or not theperson's ticket is valid, transferring the person's ticket to anotherperson, purchasing a ticket for the person using stored paymentinformation or a payment processing system, providing personalizedservices for the person and/or signaling one or more devices to do so,presenting a number of tickets associated with the person that theperson can select among, allowing/denying entrance based on evaluatedticketing information, printing out a ticket stub or other proof of aused ticket (such as by the point of entry device 1201 of FIG. 12),transmitting a digital ticket stub or other proof of a used ticket to aperson's device (such as by the point of entry device 1201 of FIG. 12 toa mobile telephone or other mobile device of the person), and so on.Various configurations are possible and contemplated without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure.

In one example, a digital representation of a biometric may be receivedby an electronic device at a venue. The electronic device may transmitthe digital representation of the biometric to an identification system.The identification system may provide an identifier in response. Theidentifier may be used to retrieve ticketing information associated withthe identifier. In some implementations, ticketing informationassociated with the identifier may correspond to events at multiplevenues and a subset of the ticketing information associated with thevenue may be selected. For example, the venue or location of the venuemay be specified in the request for the ticketing information. In otherexamples, geofencing or other techniques may be used. Variousconfigurations are possible and contemplated without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

In some implementations, the ticketing information may correspond tomore than one ticket. In such implementations, one or more of thetickets may be selected.

For example, the ticketing information may correspond to multipletickets and the multiple tickets may be selected among. For example,selection may be performed by prompting a person to select (such as froma list) and/or by using other selection mechanisms. In some examples, aperson may be able to select multiple tickets to use for himself and oneor more other people. In such examples, the person for whom a ticket isused may be tracked. In examples where a single ticket is ascertained,an express option (such as may be set in personal settings, defaults, orotherwise) may use the ascertained ticket without providing a list.

Although the example method 1400 is illustrated and described asincluding particular operations performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, variousorders of the same, similar, and/or different operations may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, 1430 is illustrated and described as obtaining ticketinginformation. In some examples, this may include transmitting theidentifier to another device and receiving the ticketing information inreturn. In other examples, this may include retrieving ticketinginformation associated with the identifier from local storage. Variousconfigurations are possible and contemplated without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

In various examples, this example method 1400 may be implemented as agroup of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed by one or more computing devices, such as the point ofentry device 1201 and/or the identification system 1203 of FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 depicts a flow chart illustrating a first example method 1500for performing an action using ticketing information that may be usedwith the method 1400 of FIG. 14. This method 1500 may be performed bythe biometric ticketing system 1200 of FIG. 12.

At 1510, ticketing information may be evaluated. At 1520, it may bedetermined whether or not the ticketing information includes a validticket. If so, the flow proceeds to 1530 where entry is allowed.Otherwise, the flow proceeds to 1540 where entry is denied.

Although the example method 1500 is illustrated and described asincluding particular operations performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, variousorders of the same, similar, and/or different operations may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, 1540 is illustrated and described as denying entry.However, it is understood that this is an example. In variousimplementations, a ticket may instead be purchased. For example, storedpayment information may be used to purchase a ticket. In other examples,a payment processing system may be contacted in order to facilitatepurchase of a ticket. Various configurations are possible andcontemplated without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

By way of another example, 1530 is illustrated and described as allowingentry. However, it is understood that this is an example. In variousimplementations, additional operations may be performed. For example, innumerous implementations, one or more of the functions described abovewith respect to the system 600 of FIG. 6 may also be performed. Variousconfigurations are possible and contemplated without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

In various examples, this example method 1500 may be implemented as agroup of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed by one or more computing devices, such as the point ofentry device 1201 and/or the identification system 1203 of FIG. 12.

In various implementations, an identification system (such as theidentification system 1203 of FIG. 12), a ticketing system (such as theticketing system 1204 of FIG. 12), and/or other system may be accessiblefrom an electronic device (such as the point of entry device 1201 ofFIG. 12, any other computing device whether at a venue or locatedanywhere executing a web browser, app, or other application, and so on)to provide access to a ticketing “wallet.” A ticketing wallet may be alist or other collection of tickets, ticketing information, or the likeassociated with a particular account. In some implementations, ticketingwallets may include other information. For example, a ticketing walletmay include a list of favorite venues, preferences for one or morevenues (which may be used to assist in ticket purchase, seat selection,and so on), a “friend” or “buddy” list that may be used to identifypeople that a person knowns who may also attend events at a venue (whichmay be used to coordinate nearby seating, advise of attendance, extendinvitations to join, and so on), and/or any other information that maybe used with respect to ticketing information related to a person.

For example, a ticketing issuer may provide a person access to aticketing wallet that includes all of the tickets the person has withthat ticketing issuer. By way of another example, an identificationsystem or other system may maintain and provide access to a ticketingwallet including the tickets, ticketing information, or the likeassociated with one or more people and one or more third party ticketingissuers.

Such a ticketing wallet may provide an interface or ticketing portal tointeract with the information associated with the ticketing wallet in avariety of different ways. The interface may enable ticketing or otherinformation to be presented or edited, tickets to be purchased ortransferred, tickets to be used or validated, additional goods orservices to be purchased, value added services to be purchased orotherwise obtained, new tickets to be purchased or otherwise obtained,various types of accounts to be linked, payment or personal informationto be added or edited, biometric data to be added or edited, and so on.

In various implementations, a ticketing wallet may also be accessiblefrom a point of entry device at a venue, such as the point of entrydevice 1201 of FIG. 12. For example, FIG. 16 depicts a flow chartillustrating a second example method 1600 for performing an action usingticketing information that may be used with the method 1400 of FIG. 14.This method may be performed by the biometric ticketing system 1200 ofFIG. 12.

At 1610, ticketing information associated with an identified person maybe identified. At 1620, it may be determined whether or not theticketing information includes at least one valid ticket. If so, theflow proceeds to 1630. Otherwise, the flow proceeds to 1650 where ticketpurchase is enabled. Enabling of ticket purchase may include an offer touse stored payment information to purchase a ticket, redirection to apayment processing system for purchasing a ticket, and so on.

At 1630, after it is determined that the ticketing information includesat least one valid ticket, a valid ticket may be selected from thewallet. In some implementations, selection of a valid ticket from thewallet may include presentation of a list of one or more valid ticketsand receiving a selection. In various implementations, presence of asingle valid ticket in the wallet may trigger automatic selection of thesingle valid ticket.

At 1640, the wallet may be updated for ticket use. For example, a ticketmay be removed from the wallet upon use.

Although the example method 1600 is illustrated and described asincluding particular operations performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, variousorders of the same, similar, and/or different operations may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, 1650 describes enabling a ticket purchase. In someimplementations, the method 1600 may further include updating the walletfor ticket purchases. Various arrangements are possible and contemplatedwithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In various examples, this example method 1600 may be implemented as agroup of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed by one or more computing devices, such as the point ofentry device 1201 and/or the identification system 1203 of FIG. 12.

In various implementations, a ticketing wallet may be accessed from adevice at a venue, such as the point of entry device 1201 of FIG. 12. Inother implementations, the ticketing wallet may be accessible from avariety of different applications executing on one or more of a varietyof different devices that may not be associated with a venue. Forexample, a person may access a ticket wallet via an interface orticketing portal executing on a personal computing device regardlesswhere the personal computing device may be located.

For example, FIG. 17 depicts a flow chart illustrating a third examplemethod 1700 for biometric ticketing. This method 1700 may be performedby the biometric ticketing system 1200 of FIG. 12.

At 1710, a digital representation of a biometric may be received. At1720, access to a ticketing information wallet may be provided based ona person identified or authenticated using the digital representation ofthe biometric. The person may be identified using the digitalrepresentation of the biometric if the digital representation of thebiometric is used to determine the identity of the person. The personmay be authenticated using the digital representation of the biometricif the person specifies his identity and the digital representation ofthe biometric is used to verify that the person is who he assertshimself to be. At 1730, modification of ticketing information in theticketing information wallet may be allowed.

Modification of the ticketing information in the ticketing informationwallet may include editing ticketing or other information, purchasing ortransferring tickets, using or validating tickets, purchasing orotherwise obtaining additional goods or services, purchasing orotherwise obtaining value added services, purchasing or otherwiseobtaining new tickets, linking various types of accounts with theticketing information wallet or an account associated therewith, addingor editing payment or personal information, adding or editing biometricdata, and so on.

Although the example method 1700 is illustrated and described asincluding particular operations performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that this is an example. In various implementations, variousorders of the same, similar, and/or different operations may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, the method 1700 is illustrated and described as using adigital representation of a biometric to identify and/or authenticatethe person in order to provide access to the ticketing informationwallet. However, it is understood that this is an example. In variousimplementations, other identification or authentication mechanisms maybe used. For example, various logins, passwords, and/or other mechanismsmay be used along with and/or instead of digital representations ofbiometrics without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In various examples, this example method 1700 may be implemented as agroup of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed by one or more computing devices, such as the point ofentry device 1201 and/or the identification system 1203 of FIG. 12.

The above illustrates and describes a number of different embodiments.However, it is understood that these are examples. In variousimplementations, one or more features of one or more differentembodiments and/or techniques discussed with respect to particularembodiments may be combined without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. Various configurations are possible andcontemplated.

A number of the embodiments discussed above describe using a digitalrepresentation of a biometric (such as an image of a face, iris, retina,or other biometric; a hash or other encoded representation of afingerprint or other biometric; and so on) to determine the identity ofa person and obtain an identifier (such as an account number, a rewardsprogram number, a frequent flyer number, a last name, a social securitynumber, and/or any other identifier that may be used to identify theperson) associated with that identity. As discussed herein, the digitalrepresentation of the biometric may not be included in the identifier.In other words, the identifier may be used to identify the personwithout including the digital representation of the biometric and/orother biometric data. For example, a hash of a fingerprint may be usedto obtain an account number that numerically identifies the person butdoes not itself contain the hash of the fingerprint of a portionthereof. This may allow different systems to reliably and accuratelyidentify a person and communicate that identity to other systems withoutsharing biometric data. This may allow systems using techniquesdisclosed herein to maintain privacy, avoid unnecessarily sharingprivate information, and so on.

However, it is understood that these are examples. In variousimplementations, identifiers may include portions and/or the entirety ofthe digital representation of the biometric without departing from thescope of the present disclosure. For example, some systems may use ahash of a fingerprint as an identifier for a person. By way of anotherexample, an image of a person's face may be included in anidentification token that also identifies the person using a numericaccount code. Various configurations are possible and contemplatedwithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

As described above and illustrated in the accompanying figures, thepresent disclosure relates to systems, methods, apparatuses, andcomputer program products for biometric ticketing, or physicaltoken-less ticketing using biometrics. In some implementations, a personmay be identified using a digital representation of a biometric.Ticketing information may be ascertained based on the identification.The ticketing information may be provided, actions may be performedusing the ticketing information, and so on.

In various implementations, a person may provide biometric data to acheckpoint device as part of a ticketing system. A digitalrepresentation of the biometric data may be used to look up anidentifier for the person from an identification system device. Thedigital representation of the biometric data may not be included in theidentifier. The identifier may be used to obtain ticketing informationfrom a ticketing system, which may be used to determine whether or notto allow the person entry into a ticketed area.

The present disclosure recognizes that biometric and/or other personaldata is owned by the person from whom such biometric and/or otherpersonal data is derived. This data can be used to the benefit of thosepeople. For example, biometric data may be used to conveniently andreliably identify and/or authenticate the identity of people, accesssecurely stored financial and/or other information associated with thebiometric data, and so on. This may allow people to avoid repeatedlyproviding physical identification and/or other information.

The present disclosure further recognizes that the entities who collect,analyze, store, and/or otherwise use such biometric and and/or otherpersonal data should comply with well-established privacy policiesand/or privacy practices. Particularly, such entities should implementand consistently use privacy policies and practices that are generallyrecognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirementsfor maintaining security and privately maintaining biometric and/orother personal data, including the use of encryption and securitymethods that meets or exceeds industry or government standards. Forexample, biometric and/or other personal data should be collected forlegitimate and reasonable uses and not shared or sold outside of thoselegitimate uses. Further, such collection should occur only afterreceiving the informed consent. Additionally, such entities should takeany needed steps for safeguarding and securing access to such biometricand/or other personal data and ensuring that others with access to thebiometric and/or other personal data adhere to the same privacy policiesand practices. Further, such entities should certify their adherence towidely accepted privacy policies and practices by subjecting themselvesto appropriate third party evaluation.

Additionally, the present disclosure recognizes that people may blockthe use of, storage of, and/or access to biometric and/or other personaldata. Entities who typically collect, analyze, store, and/or otherwiseuse such biometric and and/or other personal data should implement andconsistently prevent any collection, analysis, storage, and/or other useof any biometric and/or other personal data blocked by the person fromwhom such biometric and/or other personal data is derived.

In the present disclosure, the methods disclosed may be implemented assets of instructions or software readable by a device. Further, it isunderstood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methodsdisclosed are examples of sample approaches. In other embodiments, thespecific order or hierarchy of steps in the method can be rearrangedwhile remaining within the disclosed subject matter. The accompanyingmethod claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order,and are not necessarily meant to be limited to the specific order orhierarchy presented.

The described disclosure may be provided as a computer program product,or software, that may include a non-transitory machine-readable mediumhaving stored thereon instructions, which may be used to program acomputer system (or other electronic devices) to perform a processaccording to the present disclosure. A non-transitory machine-readablemedium includes any mechanism for storing information in a form (e.g.,software, processing application) readable by a machine (e.g., acomputer). The non-transitory machine-readable medium may take the formof, but is not limited to, a magnetic storage medium (e.g., floppydiskette, video cassette, and so on); optical storage medium (e.g.,CD-ROM); magneto-optical storage medium; read only memory (ROM); randomaccess memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (e.g., EPROM andEEPROM); flash memory; and so on.

It is believed that the present disclosure and many of its attendantadvantages will be understood by the foregoing description, and it willbe apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction,and arrangement of the components without departing from the disclosedsubject matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages.The form described is merely explanatory, and it is the intention of thefollowing claims to encompass and include such changes.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference tovarious embodiments, it will be understood that these embodiments areillustrative and that the scope of the disclosure is not limited tothem. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements arepossible. More generally, embodiments in accordance with the presentdisclosure have been described in the context or particular embodiments.Functionality may be separated or combined in blocks differently invarious embodiments of the disclosure or described with differentterminology. These and other variations, modifications, additions, andimprovements may fall within the scope of the disclosure as defined inthe claims that follow.

We claim:
 1. An access control system, comprising: at least onenon-transitory storage medium that stores instructions; and at least oneprocessing unit that executes the instructions to: determine anidentifier for a person using a digital representation of a biometric;use the identifier to determine whether information for the personobtained from an external data store indicates that the person hasauthorization, the digital representation of the biometric inaccessibleto the external data store; and when the person has the authorization,allow the person access.
 2. The access control system of claim 1,wherein the access comprises entry to an area.
 3. The access controlsystem of claim 2, wherein the area comprises an airport.
 4. The accesscontrol system of claim 2, wherein the area comprises an event venue. 5.The access control system of claim 1, wherein the digital representationof the biometric comprises a digital representation of at least one ofat least a portion of a fingerprint, a retina, an iris, or a face. 6.The access control system of claim 1, wherein the information comprisespass information.
 7. The access control system of claim 1, wherein theinformation comprises ticket information.
 8. An access control system,comprising: at least one non-transitory storage medium that storesinstructions; and at least one processing unit that executes theinstructions to: determine an identifier for a person using a digitalrepresentation of a biometric; use the identifier to access informationfor the person obtained from an authorization system, the digitalrepresentation of the biometric inaccessible to the authorizationsystem; and determine whether to allow the person to pass based on theinformation.
 9. The access control system of claim 8, wherein the atleast one processing unit identifies the person prior to determiningwhether to allow the person to pass.
 10. The access control system ofclaim 8, wherein the at least one processing unit receives an indicationthat an identity of the person is verified prior to determining whetherto allow the person to pass.
 11. The access control system of claim 8,wherein: the at least one processing unit uses the authorization systemidentifier to query a first data store; and upon unsuccessfully queryingthe first data store, the at least one processing unit uses theidentifier to query a second data store
 12. The access control system ofclaim 11, wherein the first data store stores a subset of data stored bythe second data store.
 13. The access control system of claim 8, whereinthe at least one processing unit transmits a notification upon allowingthe person to pass.
 14. The access control system of claim 8, whereinthe at least one processing unit transmits an offer to the person uponallowing the person to pass.
 15. An access control system, comprising:at least one non-transitory storage medium that stores instructions; andat least one processing unit that executes the instructions to:determine an identifier using a digital representation of a biometric;use the identifier to access information obtained from an externalsystem, the digital representation of the biometric inaccessible to theexternal system; and when the information includes relevant informationfor passage, indicate to allow a person to pass.
 16. The access controlsystem of claim 15, wherein the at least one processing unit controls anaccess restriction device to open upon indicating to allow the person topass.
 17. The access control system of claim 16, wherein the accessrestriction device comprises a turnstile or an automatic gate.
 18. Theaccess control system of claim 15, wherein the relevant information forthe passage includes data that the person meets screening criteria. 19.The access control system of claim 15, wherein the relevant informationfor the passage includes data that the person is less of a risk than ageneral population.
 20. The access control system of claim 15, whereinthe at least one processing unit indicates to allow the person to passwith a rental vehicle.